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our; Review of Pokhara, Nepal
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Our May, 2008 Pokhara Tourism Info
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May
2008 Pokhara, Nepal Stats & Info
Written & Posted by, Michael Smith
Pokhara (पोखरा) is a city of approximately 220,000
inhabitants in central Nepal located at 28.24 N, 83.99 E,, 198 km west of
Kathmandu. It is the Headquarter of Kaski District, Gandaki Zone and the
Western Development Region. It is also one of the most popular tourist
destinations in Nepal. The water is clean enough to drink...the lake fish
are superb for dining...the weather is some of the best in the country...the
people are friendly...and the entire Pokhara experience is stimulating and
rejuvenating. The same can not be said by Nepal's capital, Kathmandu.
Geography
(Above pic; Phewa lake & Pokhara from Peace Stupa)
Pokhara is situated in the northwestern corner of the
Pokhara Valley, which is a widening of the Seti Gandaki valley The Seti
River and its tributaries have dug impressive canyons into the valley floor,
which are only visible from higher viewpoints or from the air. To the east
of Pokhara is the municipality of Lekhnath,
another town in the valley.
In no other place do mountains rise so quickly. In this
area, within 30 km, the elevation rises from 1000 m to over 8000 m. The
Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu ranges, each with peaks over 8000 m, can
be seen from Pokhara and there is a lake named Phewa Lake, three caves (Mahendra,
Bat and Gupteswor) and an impressive falls (Patale Chhango or Devi's Falls)
where the water from the Phewa Lake thunders into a hole and disappears. Due
to this sharp rise in altitude the area of Pokhara has one of the highest
precipitation rates of the country (over 4000 mm/year). Even within the city
there is a noticeable difference in the amount of rain between the south of
the city by the lake and the north at the foot of the mountains.
The climate is sub-tropical but due to the elevation the
temperatures are moderate: the summer temperatures average between 25 -
35°C, in winter around 5 - 15°C.
In the south the city borders on Phewa Tal (a lake of 4.4
km² at an elevation of about 800 m above sea level), in the north at an
elevation of around 1000 m the outskirts of the city touch the base of the Annapurna
mountain range. From the southern fringes of the city 3 eight-thousanders
(Dhaulagiri, Annapurna, Manaslu)
and, in the middle of the Annapurna range, the
Machapuchare (Nepali: Machhapucchare: 'Fishtail') with close to 7000 m
can be seen. This mountain dominates the northern horizon of the city and
its name derives from its twin peaks, not visible from the south. (Below
pic; Pokhara, Annapurna Mt Range)
History
Pokhara lies on an important old trading route between Tibet and India. In the
17th. century it was part of the influential Kingdom of Kaski which again
was one of the Chaubise Rajaya (24 Kingdoms of Nepal) ruled by a branch of
the Shah Dynasty. Many of the mountains around Pokhara still have medieval
ruins from this time. In 1752 the King of Kaski invited Newars from
Bhaktapur to Pokhara to promote trade. Their heritage can still be seen in
the architecture along the streets in Bagar (Old Pokhara). Hindus, again,
brought their culture and customs from Kathmandu
and settled in the whole Pokhara valley. In 1786
Prithvi Narayan Shah added Pokhara into his kingdom. It had by then
become an important trading place on the routes from Kathmandu to
Jumla and
from India to Tibet.
From 1959 to 1962 some 300,000 refugees came to Nepal
from neighbouring Tibet, which had been annexed by China. Four
refugee camps were established in the Pokhara valley: Tashipalkhel,
Tashiling, Paljorling and Jambling. These camps have evolved into
settlements. Because of their different architecture, prayer flags, gompas
and chorten, these can easily be distinguished from the other settlements.
Until the end of the 1960s the
town could only be reached by foot and it was considered even more a
mystical place than Kathmandu. The first road was finished in 1968 after
which tourism set in and the city grew rapidly. The area along the Phewa
Lake developed into one of the major tourism hubs of Nepal.
Structure
Pokhara spans 8 km from north to south and 6 km from east to west but,
unlike Kathmandu, it is quite loosely built up and still has much green
space. The Seti Gandaki flowing through the city from north to south divides
the city roughly in two halves with the down-town area of Chipledunga in the
middle, the old town centre of Bagar in the north and the tourist district
of Lakeside (Baidam) in the south all lying on the western side of the
river. The gorge through which the river flows is crossed at five points,
the major ones are (from north to south): K.I. Singh Pul, Mahendra Pul and
Prithvi Highway Pul. The eastern side of town is mainly residential.
About half of all tourists visiting Pokhara are there for the start or end
of a trek to the Annapurna Base Camp and Mustang. For Nepalese, Pokhara has
become the most favorite place to live in the country. Phewa Lake was
slightly enlarged by damming. It is in danger of silting up because of the
inflow during the monsoon. The outflowing water is partially used for hydro
power. The dam collapsed in the late 1970s and it was rebuilt by the
Chinese. The power plant is located about 100 m below at the bottom of the
Phusre Khola gorge. Water is also diverted for irrigation into the southern
Pokhara valley.
The eastern Pokhara Valley receives irrigation water through a canal running
from a reservoir by the Seti in the north of the city. Phewa Lake is also
used for commercial fishing. The tourist area is along the north shore of
the lake (Lake Side and Dam Side). It is mainly made up of little shops,
little hotels, restaurants and bars. The larger hotels can be found on the
southern and south-eastern fringes of the city, from where the view of the
mountains, mainly Mt. Fishtail is seen best. To the east of the valley are
few smaller and few bigger lakes, the largest being Begnas Tal and Rupakot
Tal. Begnas Tal is also known for its fishery projects. There are no beaches
in the valley, but one can rent boats Phewa and Begnas Tal.Tourism and
Economy
After the annexation of Tibet by China the trading route
to India became defunct. Today only few caravans from
Mustang still arrive in Bagar.
Pokhara has become a major tourist hub of Nepal, more
than making up for the loss of its trading importance. The city offers a
combination of nature and culture with a distinct tourist district in the
southern subdivisions of Baidam, Lakeside and Damside. It is mostly known as
starting and ending point for
Annapurna
treks.
Pokhara is quite a modern city with only few touristic
attractions in the town itself. Most interesting is the old centre in the
north of the city (purano bazar) where still many old shops and warehouses
in the Newari style can be found. Mule
caravans still arrive there from Mustang.
Temples worth visiting in the older part of town are
Bindhyabasini temple and Bhimsen temple. Another temple, Barahi temple, is
located on an island in the Phewa Lake. It is accessible only through boats
available at the shores of the lake.
The modern commercial city centre at Chiple Dhunga and
Mahendrapul (now called Bhimsen Chowk, named after a Shahid(Martyr) in Jana-aandolan
II, April, 2006) is halfway between the lake and Purano Bazar, the old
centre. Apart from this there are several subcentres in other parts of town:
in the north in Bagar, in the south between Prithvi Chok and Srijana Chok
(mainly hardware stores), and in the east, on the other side of the Seti, in
Ram Bazar.
On a hill overlooking Phewa Tal from the south is the
World Peace Stupa (at 1,113 m)
QTVR built in 1996 with a view of the lake, across the city and of the
snow peaked mountain range consisting of namely, Fishtail, Annapurna and
Dhaulagiri Himals (mountains)
.
( Above pic; The Anapurna Range above Phewa
lake)
The best viewpoint of Pokhara is Sarangkot (1600 m )and
Thulakot (in Lekhnath a part of famous Royal Trek from where four lakes Phewa,
Begnas, Khaste and Dipang and whole Annapurna range is seen) to the west of
the city. Paths and a road lead to the top from where one can enjoy
spectacular views of the Annapurna range, Manaslu, Dhaulagiri and the city
itself.
The shortage of touristy sites in Pokhara is made up by its scenic views in
and around town. Most of them are not mentioned in any guide or map. The Seti
Gandaki (White Gandaki) and its tributaries have created spectacular gorges in
and around the whole city. The Seti gorge runs through the whole city from
north to south. At places it is only a few metres wide, but 100 m deep with a
water depth of 20 m.
In the middle of the city, the gorge widens to a canyon looking like a crater.
In the north and south, just outside town, there are awesome canyons, in some
places 100 m deep. These canyons extend through the whole Pokhara Valley.
Impressive views are possible from the Prithvi Narayan Campus and from the
other side at the foot of Kahu Danda (conjunction of several rivers and
canyons). Behind the INF-Compound one can see the Seti River disappear into a
slit in an almost 100 m wall, especially impressive in monsoon.
Another place worth visiting is the Patale Chhango (Hell's Falls), more
commonly called "Devi's or David's Falls" for the tourists with some
melodramatic story behind it. The water of these falls comes from the Fewa
Lake flowing to the Seti. The falls plunge into a hole and disappear. In
monsoon this sight is most spectacular. Nearby, across the street is a little
cave (Gupteshwor Cave). A more exciting cave is at the opposite end of the
city in Batulechaur (Mahendra Cave). Betulechaur is known for the musicians
caste of the Jains. Pokhara Airport is situated in the middle of town serving
flights to Kathmandu, Jomsom, Manang, Bhairahawa and Bharatpur. Helicopters to
Manang and Jomsom are also available for charter.
An interesting institution of Pokhara is the British Gurkha Camp in the north
of the city. It has been established as a recruitment camp for Nepalis as
Gurkha soldiers. About 370 are selected annually in December out of a pool of
over 20,000 applicants. About 140 eventually join the Gurkha Contingent in
Singapore while the rest join the British Army.
.
